Inexpensive Lighting Options.

[SpencerFitch]

I may be ordering some driving lights soon, 4 of them mounted on a roof light bar.

I have in the past tried hella 500ff from amazon for 67$ shipped, I loved them, they never gave me any issues, and seemed built VERY good for plastic lights.
No chips, cracks, dents, water, etc, and I left them uncovered all the time. However these are the ONLY lights I have ever used.

I know these are probably my cheapest option but is there anything else I SHOULD check out first? Even if its a little bit more.

 

[AxeAngel]

I use Hella 4000s but would recommend lightforce products.

-Sam

 

[corax]

another option:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46203

 

[ryguy]

x2 on the lightforce. I switched from hella 500's to LF 170's and the difference is night and day

 

[Skratch]

I know Lightforce makes some good stuff, but . . .

I run Hella and only Hella on my trucks, I have 550 drivers, 4000 Euros and it takes my buddy's four LF170's to put out as much light on the road as my two Hella 4000's with 100w bulbs.
It's a personal preference, but I like metal housings and glass lenses over plastic anyday.

 

[irish_11]

I run a set of hella 700ff's that I plan on converting to HID. http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107705 I don't use them all the time, but they are nice when I need them. I like the lightforces and if I used my lights more I might consider them. For now I went with the Hella's. Plus they were only $72 shipped off amazon.com. My friend has run 500ff on his XJ for 5 years now without any issues, that and the price are what sold me on them.

 

[Hilldweller]

I have HIDx lights from RDM Offroad; I think they're the same China-sourced manufacturer as all the other look-alikes, including the Hella product.

Free shipping, easy company to work with. Good support.

I tinted the lenses to get rid of the ricer-boy blue glow too. Selective yellow works great for actually seeing things on the road (or trail).

 

[Warhead]

I have been happy with PIAA lights, I had the "40 round" on a Jeep for a few years. I would buy them again.
I also have a pair of Warn 520 lights on my MJ, they were on there when I bought it and are not hooked up, one day I will get around to it, I think they are discontinued now though.

 

[Rambow]

Ok this is what I run for about 20$ a light. You know the cheap implement lites at NAPA, the ones with the black rubber housing. They use the 4'' plastic lense and bulb combo. They are cheap to buy a set or two.
Napa also sells a 4'' 100w glass aircraft landing Bulb. Part number #4509 I believe. Take the original bulb out and install aircraft bulb. done.
These light are extremly bright and produce a spot pattern. Iv used them for about 10 yrs now. I carry a spare bulb with me, and if one happens to poop out, its a simple change. Seems Ill Blow about 1 or 2 a year. But hey, there cheap!!

 

[corax]

Ok this is what I run for about 20$ a light. You know the cheap implement lites at NAPA, the ones with the black rubber housing. They use the 4'' plastic lense and bulb combo. They are cheap to buy a set or two.
Napa also sells a 4'' 100w glass aircraft landing Bulb. Part number #4509 I believe. Take the original bulb out and install aircraft bulb. done.
These light are extremly bright and produce a spot pattern. Iv used them for about 10 yrs now. I carry a spare bulb with me, and if one happens to poop out, its a simple change. Seems Ill Blow about 1 or 2 a year. But hey, there cheap!!

Exactly what I did and have been using for 2 years (here's my write-up) - they definately throw some light down the road

 

[ChrisInVT]

another option:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46203

Hey, that's my write-up

I like those HIDs, but the IPF/Hella combo on my other car is superior to the HIDs. I like the instant-on of the halogen lights over the warm-up period of the HIDs. But I use those HIDs wired into my high-beams - so it's different.

 

[Mr. D]

Looking in the quadratec mag today I saw some warn wireless lights for about $170.00 has; anyone heard if the wireless system works.

 

[Hawk Thor]

I have 2 Hella 4000 Euro beams and 1 Hella 4000 spot light with 3000K 55W HIDs on the front of my Cruiser.

The euro beams light up a huge area in front of the vehicle and throw light out to the sides like cornering beams. The spotlight throws light so far ahead that I can see roadmarkers for miles if the terrain is right.

I bought the euro beams used and converted them 3 years later, then a Pajero backed into me (Damn those Pajero owners.) and broke the lens on one light. He bought me another light and a pair of HID capsules. Then I had an empty housing laying around and the HID capsule in the damaged light turned out to be OK, so I bought a spotlight reflector to put in the housing. I then shopped around in Ebay and found a very good ballast for cheap.

I also have IPF projector foglights with the same 3000K 55W HID kit, only with H3 bulbs. They´re simply awesome, the cut-off is sharp and the output is great.

These I also bought used, I got them cheap since one was full of moisture. I removed the projector from the lens, cleaned it, siliconed everything together and ran them for 1 year with 85W halogens. I was very happy with them. But I then put in the HIDs since I found them on sale. They were mounted on a small lightbar when I bought them and there were two PIAA lights on the bar as well. I paid less for them than for one liter of vodka.

Although these are not really cheap options I thought I´d mention them.

I believe that upgrades should be done in stages. Buying good lights (new or used won´t really matter if the light are high quality.) and using them for a while will make you happy if you were used to factory lights. Then you can upgrade the lights with HIDs or sell your old lights and buy better ones for an even better performance. Shopping around makes it much easier to upgrade and to know where to go for spares.

I started out with cheap driving lights and OLD foglights on my old Hilux. They rocked compared to the old 200mm headlights on the Hilux, then I got the Hella lights and the old lights suddenly didn´t seem so good anymore.

 

[mustangwarrior]

Exactly what I did and have been using for 2 years (here's my write-up) - they definately throw some light down the road

do you need to run relays with that setup? if so it's not much cheaper than buying some summit racing brand off road lights

 

[corax]

do you need to run relays with that setup? if so it's not much cheaper than buying some summit racing brand off road lights

To me there's no excuse to ever wire a light without a relay. I cringe when I see people run full power through an in-cab toggle switch.

BTW, standard Bosch type relays only cost a buck or two (if you have to buy them), so I don't see that it would raise the price much at all